Montana's Generosity in 2023 and a Look at Popular Fundraisers

The fundraising website GoFundMe has released its annual report for 2023. Along with information about giving worldwide, they shared some information about fundraising in Montana in 2023.

Giving Worldwide in 2023

Natural Disaster Relief

Natural disaster relief was a major theme this year because of events like the devastating fires in Maui. According to the GoFundMe annual report, over 100 countries donated to Maui relief. But there was also flooding in Italy and an Earthquake in Morocco. 2.8M Euros were raised for Italy and over 78,000 people contributed to relief in Morocco. Overall, $106 million was raised in 2023 for natural disaster relief.

Business and Economics

With changes to financial support programs like school meal programs that were started during the pandemic and student loan payment forgiveness, increases in giving for these two areas were seen, as well as an increase in fundraisers for senior care.

fundraisers for lunch debt: 4.5x increase in 2023
fundraisers for student loan debt: 40% increase from the same time last year
fundraisers for senior care: 10% increase YoY

Additionally giving to support businesses saw over 94,000 fundraisers started.

Giving in Montana 2023

The year may have been a financially tough one for a lot of Montanans, yet many still found ways to give to those in need. Over 100,000 people gave to fundraisers started in Montana. Causes that drew Montana's support included animals, family, and education, but there was one fundraiser that drew the most support.

Trooper Lewis Johnson

In February of this year, Trooper Lewis Johnson was injured while apprehending a suspect during a high-speed chase. A fundraiser was started on GoFundMe and in the description, injuries sustained included, "a punctured lung, damaged liver, head injury, broken ribs, broken arm, broken leg, and severe spinal trauma. The fundraiser gained fast support, bringing in $146,000 within only a matter of days. Currently, the fundraiser total is $228,585, and according to Jeff Platt, Communications Manager & Spokesperson at GoFundMe, this was the fundraiser that raised the most money in Montana in 2023.

If you still have room left to give, consider donating to the annual KYSSMAS for Kids Auction which will be taking place tomorrow, December 8 from 6 am - 7 pm. To get a sneak peek at this year's auction items, take a look below.